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Overcoming Injuries and Mental Challenges

Overcoming Injuries and Mental Challenges

When physical challenges become a mental game, there isn’t an easy way out. An anti-inflammatory diet helps with the former, but what can we do to defeat the anxiety and negative self-talk triggered by the injury? Last March, I embarked on an expedition trip around the Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia. It was three weeks of non-stop outdoor adventures including kayaking, hiking, and glacier approaching. I knew it was going to be physically challenging, but little did I know at that time that the mental challenge would be even greater.

I started conditioning several months before. At the peak of my training, just over a month from the start of my trip, I had a bad fall at the gym and sprained my right ankle.

As it usually happens with injuries, it occurred when I was performing a movement I had done so many other times before, a simple skater jump, just that this time I lost my balance and landed poorly, rolling my ankles and falling to the floor.

Whilst I was falling, the only thing I could think about was my trip, for which I was working so hard and had been planning and saving money for so many months. As soon as I hit the floor, I knew it was bad. The pain was so acute I could not even get back up, not to mention walking.

The gym called the physio next door to have a quick look. I patiently waited for him to finish the examination before I said: “I’ve got a hiking trip in 5 weeks, will I be ok?”. His face said it all.
I cried. A lot. But not from pain. I was crying because I had slim chances to recover before my trip, and the thought of having it ruined was devastating. He estimated it would take at least 6 weeks to get my ankle to 80%, and 8 to 12 weeks to go back to normal life. I only had 5, and I had to make it work.

Speeding up injury recovery

I followed all his indications and also read everything I could find about how to recover from injuries faster, putting a lot of emphasis on my diet. I already knew and experienced how important what we eat is for our overall health, and I suspected that in a situation like this would be instrumental if I wanted a miraculous speed recovery.
I paid all the attention to my diet, making sure I was eating all the anti-inflammatory foods whilst resting and icing my foot. For the first week my breakfasts looked like a gut healing anti-inflamatory cocktail of bone broth blended with turmeric and coconut oil, with some eggs and sauerkraut on the side. My lunches and dinners had wild salmon and grass-fed beef, with more turmeric and coconut oil added somewhere. I added more fat and reduced my carb intake a bit, as I was not exercising or burning muscle glycogen. And I also added plenty of antioxidants like berries, leafy greens, and very dark chocolate, daily.

As the inflammation and bruising were going down, I started to “walk”. That was week-4 (minus four) and I had to re-learn how to walk and focus on avoiding limping to force my foot to do its natural movement pattern to regain strength as soon as possible.
In week -3, I started rehab and continued to support my recovery in the best way possible. At that point, I incorporated plenty of protein for muscle recovery and collagen for fibre elasticity, as well as continuing with an anti-inflammatory diet. I had 3 sessions of physical physiotherapy, including ultrasound and acupuncture, and I did all the exercises I was given to recover range of motion, strength, and flexibility.

As of week-22 before leaving for Patagonia, I was able to walk on a flat surface without pain and no limping, but hills, uneven surface, and step up/downs were a whole different story…. and if there is something in Patagonia, it’s mountains, rocks, and more mountains.

Putting my injury to the test

Week -1 was the acclimatisation week. I was already in Argentina, and our guide had planned a quick test for us. As we hiked to the top of Circuito Chico (near Bariloche) to see the view over the lake district, I couldn’t hide the obvious.
I’ve always had a small fear of heights (more like being-next-to-the-edge fear), which didn’t help… and if you add that to my weak legs and sore ankle, the outcome was not very good. I could see myself falling over and over again, and that made me even more prone to make a mistake. I had fallen in the gym and got injured doing the easiest exercise ever, how could I be safe hiking through the highest mountains in South America? I had a fear of falling again, a fear of getting injured, especially knowing that I was going to be away from civilization and telephone signal, away from hospitals and doctors, carrying my backpack and camping every night.
The anxiety eventually kicked in.
If paying attention to my diet was crucial in my speedy recovery, focusing on my inner strength and overcoming the mental challenge of hiking with an injury were key to surviving through the next few days.

I had a few days to work on that before we moved down to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Once there, I knew I had 4 days of intense hiking through Torres del Paine NationalParkrk followed by a visit to the Perito Moreno glacier and two more days of hiking in El Chaltén to see Mt Fitzroy and the Tres Lagunas. Around 100km in total. The distance was not what worried me, I knew I could walk, nor was the weather, although fearful,l; but the difficulty of the terrain and the ups and downs in elevation were the problem. I knew my physical condition was subpar.

That acclimatisation week was not fun. I was worried about what was to come and how I was going to do it. I questioned my motivation and wondered why I was there. The anxiety was affecting my sleep and mood, as I could not rest knowing that I was not as prepared for the challenge as I had planned. I felt weak and a burden to the group. I knew I had to believe in myself, but every time I thought about what I had to go through over the next few days, my anxiety would kick in.

Companion

I am very grateful I had the support of my boyfriend, who had gone through the entire process with me and was part of the trip too, as well as our tour guide and a the rest of the group, who were aware of my injury and were very supportive and gave me lots of wise advice. With their help, I  managed to find a mental place where I was ready to take on the challenge.

Tracking

The big hike came. For Day 1 of our W trek, we had a 20km total route (10km each way) to the Base Las Torres with 1000mascentd, from which almost half was spread just over the last 1km.
I didn’t trust my legs; they were sore and shaking from the effort on the way up, so I used my hiking poles. I could not have done it without them. I used them almost like crotches to jump down the rocks, and then they prevented me from slipping or going too fast on the biggest inclines, bearing my weight when my legs were completely wrecked, and giving me enough time to make sure I was placing my feet the right way. It took me several hours and a lot of anxiety to get back down. But I did it, and every day after that.

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